The study explores the unaddressed washback on the English-speaking test of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE-English Language Paper 4). The HKDSE is a university entrance exam in Hong Kong which includes a group discussion speaking test known as English Language Paper 4. To identify ongoing washback effects, including sociocultural perspectives, the study analyses ongoing student washback of test-specific and non-specific preparation and how the mediating factors affect these preparations. One-hundred and ninety-nine secondary 4th to 6th grade students provided the questionnaire data in two rounds. Results from exploratory factor analysis indicate six major types of test preparation, which are categorised as two test specific, three non-specific, and one integrated type of preparation. Mediating factors comprise five categories of learner characteristics and stakeholders in and out of school. The cluster analyses identified four students' groups intertwined with the involvement of washback and the mediating factors. A strong relationship between extrinsic factors and explicit learning and intrinsic factors and implicit learning was found. The study concludes that students' washback is affected by mediating factors aside from the test; learning method choice by students (e.g. learning from entertainment content) has a strong relationship with specific mediating factors (e.g. interest in English). Copyright © 2023 Springer Nature.

Despite research studies on TESOL materials and textbooks addressing a wide range of pedagogical issues as well as evaluation strategies, reference books for examination preparation have received little attention from TESOL researchers. This study reports an attempt to develop a checklist for evaluating the reference books for the examination for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE, the college entrance requirement for secondary school students in Hong Kong), with a particular focus on books for the English writing examination. The researchers acquired a total of 39 reference books on DSE English writing and examined them against the reports and documents of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority as well as the Education Bureau. After identifying the most concerning issues in the reference books, the researchers developed a checklist for evaluating future reference books using the framework suggested by McGrath (2002), taking into account the Education Bureau's guidelines for local school textbook evaluation. The authors conclude by briefly discussing implications and how their findings could be shared with HKDSE candidates through engaging the Hong Kong government. Copyright © 2023 Wiley-Blackwell.

This study examines the range of cognitive processes assessed in the English language reading literacy test as part of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE), the secondary school exit test in Hong Kong. Prior studies have suggested that higher order cognitive processes are often undermined in high-stakes tests and classrooms, due to what is called the “washback effect.” This prompts the following hypothesis: despite its top-performing education system, Hong Kong has failed to provide a versatile collection of test items that involve complex reasoning. To investigate the cognitive demands of the test, as well as their relationship with student performance, this study maps the test items with reference to the cognitive levels assessed using in-depth document analysis. ANOVA is used to statistically determine differences in accuracy rates to supplement the analysis throughout. Results indicate that the test has placed an overwhelming emphasis on lower order cognitive processes over the past decade (2012–2019) and that items assessing higher order cognitive skills are, as expected, met with statistically significantly poorer performance in the test. Implications for future revision of the test and curriculum policy are discussed. Copyright © 2022 Springer.

Hong Kong has been regarded as one of the strong examination-driven systems worldwide. Under the current education system, local secondary school students have to sit for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) at the end of Grade 12. Although the continuing assessment reform since 2000 tried to reduce the number of high-stakes examinations for secondary school students (from two to one at the end of the six-year secondary education), it remained a high-stakes public examination because the examination results usually have a significant influence on learners’ future pathways, including further education and employment. In respect of the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, many international public examinations have been tried to be called off, but the Hong Kong government did persist in moving ahead with HKDSE. This aroused criticisms about whether the government has taken students’ well-being as a top priority because the annual survey on DSE students’ stress recorded the highest levels in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In this paper, the positioning and myth of HKDSE and its tie to Confucian philosophy will be examined. Students’ well-being is also discussed regarding rescheduling the examination and the impacts on the mental health of all DSE students, notwithstanding the challenges that can bring to any successful outcomes. It is hoped to urge mental health education and promotion could be carried out systematically to improve its effectiveness. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

This paper describes Hong Kong’s borrowing, primarily from the UK, of the assessment for learning policy, in the context of prolonged use of formal summative public examinations. The narrative review and analysis are guided by a social positivist critique of the assessment for learning policy in the Hong Kong context. This paper concludes that Hong Kong’s attempts to implement assessment for learning are ambitious but somewhat futile because of persistent use of public examinations for important decision-making. Change in Hong Kong may only happen through a gradual implementation of assessment for learning practices that takes into account cultural, societal, and historic norms. Critical issues are identified and recommendations are proposed for further implementation of assessment for learning in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd.

In alignment with the New Academic Structure, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) was launched in 2012 to replace the former Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) as certification for completion of secondary education, and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) as the main credentials for university admission in Hong Kong. Standards-referenced reporting is adopted for the HKDSE with the objective of reporting candidates' results against a set of prescribed levels of achievement based on typical performances at those levels. Clearly defined standards facilitate learning and teaching as well as enable users of the qualification, including tertiary institutions and employers, to set appropriate entrance/job requirements. The standards are set and maintained by expert judgement supported by psychometric data to ensure fairness and consistency of standards across subjects and across cohorts. Systemic and implementation issues and their resolutions are discussed in the context of the education reform in Hong Kong. Copyright ©Routledge.

This article introduces the use of public exam questions in fishbowl debate to engage highly exam-oriented secondary students with communicative language teaching (CLT). The practice aims to address the issue that many teachers of English as a second language (ESL)/English as a foreign language (EFL) in Asian contexts either teach to the test or implement CLT without catering for the students' pragmatic needs to pass external assessment. A series of activities was implemented in a secondary school in Hong Kong to promote positive washback from the public exam. The author's experience and reflections informed by ongoing dialogue with the stakeholders in the school and data collected from student focus group interviews suggest that the fishbowl debate encouraged students to use English for authentic and meaningful purposes, while appreciating its relevance to the writing exam. An important pedagogical implication is for teachers to balance CLT and exam preparation and help students to reach both their mastery and performance goals. Copyright © 2020 The Author(s).

語文歷來是高考受關注最多的科目,不論是內地還是香港、臺灣,專家們都在努力探索合適的語文能力評估方式,近年來各地的高考改革,語文試題的變化及重要程度更加明顯。自2013年北京市教委向社會廣泛徵求提高語文高考分值意見開始,內地進入“大語文”時代,2017年被稱為“新高考元年”,語文高考愈發重視對語文學科核心素養的考查。香港地區高中新課程的實施始於2009年,課程變動導致香港中學文憑考試(HKDSE)應運而生。首屆香港中學文憑考試於2012開始,其中中文科作為四項核心考試之一,在中學文憑試上佔有重要地位。臺灣地區自2002年起全面實施大學多元入學方案,語文科試題尤其體現出重視對傳統國學文化傳承。共同作為三地母語的語文科高考顯然需要更深入的研究,這不僅可以幫助了解各地語文教育的特點,也可以讓我們了解當前內地語文教育發展的現狀,融合眾家之長,為今後語文試題命制和語文教學提供參考和建議。在本研究之前,文獻大多是對內地與香港,或大陸與臺灣高考試題的比較研究,且年代較為久遠,鮮有對內地、香港、臺灣近些年語文高考試題的三地比較研究。本研究基於當前內地、香港、臺灣語文高考的大背景,以2012-2017年大陸語文全國I卷、香港中學文憑試(DSE)語文卷和臺灣學測語文卷為研究對象,採用文本分析法和比較分析法,首先對三地六年語文試題的試卷結構和內容分別進行梳理分析,在此基礎上進行試卷異同點的比較研究,分析三地高考語文試卷各自的特色和可相互借鑒之處。論文主要研究結果發現:第一,各地語文試卷體現不同的語文教育目的;第二,對“語文素養”的考查各有偏重;第三,閱讀材料不同程度地體現出與現實生活的聯繫;第四,試卷結構及試題題型靈活多樣。在此基礎上得出五點主要結論:第一,課程標準或文件的指導功能突出;第二,試卷都充分照顧“一綱多本”的影響;第三,對語文能力的考查體現出不同形式的探索;第四,對閱讀能力考查要點的安排同中有異;第五,三地語文高考試卷的編制處於不斷調整變化之中。綜合這些結論,對試題的命制提出了四點建議:第一,要進一步強化試卷對傳統文化的考查;第二,加強語文試卷與當下社會的聯繫;第三,閱讀能力考查要點宜增加鑒賞、表達應用和探究能力;第四,增強語文試卷寫作的選擇性和自由度。

This study investigates the perceptions of stakeholders on the impact of a high-stakes assessment of English language teachers' proficiency – the minimum language standards Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English) [LPATE], which was introduced in 2000. Given that the test has now been in place for 17 years, the study investigates the extent to which the LPATE assessment has contributed to English language teacher standards in Hong Kong. Interview data from 24 participants in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, reveal a number of positive links between the LPATE test and English language teaching as a profession. The introduction of the LPATE was deemed to be necessary in terms of setting, raising and maintaining language proficiency standards; stakeholders' awareness that English teachers need to have high language standards, subject-matter knowledge and pedagogical skills related to English language teaching; and that now an increasing number of English teachers are exempt from the LPATE through having opted for relevant degrees and teacher training, questions should be asked about how and whether the LPATE should be used in more relevant and meaningful ways.
[Copyright © 2017 The Author(s).]